TalkTalk TV Store closes and moves to Rakuten TV

TalkTalk TV Store is closing its doors to non-TalkTalk customers, and moving any purchased films or TV shows to Rakuten TV.

The site, which was a rebranded version of blinkbox (acquired by TalkTalk in 2015), launched in 2016 and provided a pay-per-view service for renting and buying films and TV shows. While it was originally envisioned as a complimentary platform to TalkTalk’s TV service, the open-access site has now been shut down for any external users.

TalkTalk customers will still be able to access their existing content and purchase new titles via the TalkTalk TV app on their set top boxes or on mobile devices. However, any users that are not current customers of TalkTalk TV – mostly former customers of blinkbox – will have their account closed and any purchases moved to Rakuten TV this month.

If users already have a Rakuten account, which uses the same email address, then their video libraries will be merged automatically. For those with different email addresses, TalkTalk accounts can be updated to make sure the email address does match. For any content that is not available on Rakuten, compensation will be offered by Rakuten in the form of its in-store credit, called “Superpoints”.

One major difference between TalkTalk TV Store and Rakuten TV, though, is that the latter does not support Ultraviolet. With fewer and fewer distributors and apps supporting Ultraviolet, the cross-platform cloud-based system for owning and watching content, Flixster is now the only UK Ultraviolet-supporting provider, although it has essentially shut down in the USA.

The switch from TalkTalk TV Store to Rakuten TV will take place on 31st July. Rakuten TV is currently supported on Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, X-Box One/360, and Panasonic, Sony, LG & Samsung Smart TVs. Other pay-per-view (transactional VOD, or TVOD) platforms available in the UK include Google Play, Sky Store, Amazon Prime Video, Chili and iTunes.

New TalkTalk TV Store officially launches

The site, which is a rebranded version of blinkbox (acquired by TalkTalk last year), is a pay-per-view service that offers TV shows and movies available to rent and buy online.

The platform now offers more than 7,000 of the latest films and series, from The Walking Dead to Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The site compliments TalkTalk’s existing TV service, allowing the company to reach out behind its own customer base to the general public – indeed, TalkTalk TV Store is available to everyone.

Those who do have TalkTalk TV, though, will benefit from the TV Store’s compatibility with multiple devices: customers can rent or buy a show on their home TV then switch to a mobile device to watch the same show. Titles are also available to download and watch offline.

TalkTalk TV Store is compatible with desktops, laptops, Apple (iOS8+), Android (OS 4+) Windows (8.1+) smartphones and tablets, LG and Samsung (2012+) Smart TVs and Google Chromecast. Viewers will be able to register up to five devices to their account, and watch one film or programme on their TalkTalk TV, while streaming or downloading another on a different device. Additionally, existing TalkTalk customers can access the new service by using their TalkTalk log-in details, meaning there is no need to create another account or provide credit card details – at the end of the month, any purchases will be added directly to their monthly bill.

The site is separate to TalkTalk TV’s other movie rental service, TalkTalk Player, which is accessible to TalkTalk customers on their YouView box – customers who use the Rent & Own service on TalkTalk Player will need to buy or rent movies and shows separately on TalkTalk TV Store (in the future, these accounts will be merged). Former blinkbox customers, meanwhile, will see no changes to the service, with their personal digital libraries remaining the same.

TalkTalk has also promised to offer movies at the lowest price in Britain: £3.45 in SD, four pence cheaper than the standard market rate of £3.49 (SD). HD titles to rent will cost £4.45, four pence cheaper than the standard market rate of £4.49.

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